Before I started playing WoW I use to play my Xbox 360 and the various games I had for it all the time. One of the things me and my best friend often did, was go for difficult achievements on games. I ended up getting 1000/1000 on halo 3 within the first week, and got 1000/1000 on Call of duty 4 Modern Warfare as quickly as I could (damn you mile high club!). Now that most of my gaming focus is on WoW I have started becoming more and more of an "achievement whore." All of this makes me wonder, what is it about achievements that make people do so much work for them?
Goals
For a lot of people, achievements can serve as goals that they want to accomplish. We have all heard the quotes like "A man without a goal in mind, is a man with no purpose" and it applies in game too. Let's say you really wanna learn how to pvp since you hadn't been into that part of the game before. You decide your going to work on it until you get your 1k honor kills achievement so that you know you gave it a fair shot. Sometimes achievements like this can serve as goals for someone to achieve.
Rewards
Probably more often the reason for people to do achievements is for the awards, specefically the mount/title awards. A personal example for me is I decided I wanted to have a title besides the patient. So the one I am going for on my druid I'm leveling (he's also my achievement whore character) is the ambassador of the alliance. Now rep grinding isn't my favorite thing, but I will do it. I figure this is a somewhat easy achievement to get me a nice new title, so my reason for working on this is the reward. Often times people will go for long hard grinding achievememts just for the title or mount to show off their hardwork, other times they just might really like that mount or tabard or whatever it is and will put in the effort to get it. Without the insane title how many people with the exalted's required do you think there would be? Not nearly as many as there is (I'm sure there would still be some), because in most cases the reason for doing it is for the cool title to distinguish yourself.
Excuse to collect/do something you like
For some people achievements are used as excuses to collect or do something you like. With me personally my Druid Algas recently collected ten tabards and will be hitting 10 mounts pretty soon here. I like mounts and tabards because I think they both look pretty cool. The achievements for collecting tabards and collecting mounts are great excuses for me to collect these things I like and to be rewarded for it. There are other people who love the lore so the achievement well read rewards them for roaming around and reading these books. Achievements serve as an excuse to them and make it seem less "pointless" in some peoples eyes.
Just for the points
For some people they will do a lot of things for achievements just because its an achievement. I don't really know how else to describe it other then they just want the points. The perfect example for this is the critter kill and critter /love achievements. No reward (I think), no real reason, just get some achievement points for it. For some people, just the fact that there is an achievement for them is a challenge for them to take on, and a way to get more points. I won't go for achievements I don't enjoy doing, but for some people litlle things like this are a nice break for them.
Achievements are a great way to motivate someone who normally might not do an activity, or sometimes just good to encourage a break from what they normally do. I'm personally starting to turn into an achivement whore, but I still won't do something I don't enjoy doing. On my druid (the character I've been focusing on and working on achievements for) my main goals right now are The Ambassador (exalted with alliance citys), Leading the Cavalry (50 mounts), and 25 Tabards. Way off in the distance I could see myself going for the Exalted, but that would not be any time soon. So my question is...
What achievements are you working on?
Why do you do/don't work on achievements?
What great achievements do you have?
What will you do for an achievement?
Happy Healing
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
How to Heal Part 2: Choosing the Healing Class for you!
So you read part 1 of the guide and decided that maybe healing is your thing afterall. This is great as your 1 step closer to bringing all those green bars back up! So the next clear question is probably "what class should I play Tamek?" Well I can't tell you which class you'll enjoy best because I am not you. Each healing class has styles, I've had a love affair with hots here recently so my druid is my current favorite for example. Maybe you want direct healing only though since you can't stand waiting for those hots, or maybe you want a lil bit of everything. So I will break down the different styles and some of the utilities for each of the classes and let you decide, also please don't just pick one based on it being the current fotm. Choosing one you genuinely enjoy will make you much happier regardless of whether or not it is "op."
*Note these are very general overviews of each class/spec, any more detailed questions email me or comment. Also the specialization bonuses are the bonuses for choosing that spec. The bonus listed that I say is their "mastery" is received at lvl 80 and is spec specific.
Priest
Priests are the only class in the game with 2 different healing specializations. A healing priest may spec into the Discipline tree to focus on shields and other such absorption effects, or Holy for a extremely versatile spec with very strong aoe heals. Priests have the biggest "toolbox" of all the healers with many different unique spells. Along with the basic 3 spells (covered in the next part of the How to Heal series) priests also have a wide variety of other healing spells, the best magic dispel, and can also dispel diseases. Priests are also the cloth wearing healing class.
Discipline specialization bonuses:
Penance (a quick channeled heal)
Meditation (all healing specs have this, allows for 50% of spirit to regain in combat)
Enlightenment (increases intellect by 15%)
Shield Discipline (Their mastery increases the potency of their absorb affects)
Discipline has 3 potent cooldowns and 2 different play styles. As a discipline priest you can focus on either being a "smite spec" priest or a regular discipline priest with heavy focus on shielding. Discipline priests are effective healers with strong cooldowns capable of powerful burst throughput.
Holy specialization bonuses:
Holy Word: Chastise (A stun that transforms into different heals based on your chakra stance)
Meditation (all healing specs have this, allows for 50% of spirit to regain in combat)
Spiritual Healing (Increases all healing by 15%)
Echo of Light (holy's mastery creates a small hot after every direct heal)
Holy has an interesting playstyle in managing their "chakra" stances. They choose stances based on their healing style and anticipating which one will be more useful. Holy has extremely strong aoe healing and a powerful cooldown.
Druid
Restoration Druids are a unique healing class in that most of their focus on healing is on their "hots." Hots are healing over time effects, and can be very powerful when layered together. Druids have a pretty solid toolbox with aoe and single target healing. Druids can dispel magic (when talented) curses and poisions. Druids lack a mitigation cooldown but have a strong output cooldown in tree of life. Druids are the leather wearing healing class.
Restoration specilization bonuses:
Swiftmend (A powerful instant cast heal that consumes 1 over your hots on the target (unless glyphed))
Meditation (all healing specs have this, allows for 50% of spirit to regain in combat)
Gift of Nature (increases healing by 25%)
Disentanglement (allows the druid to shapeshift out of roots)
Symbiosis (increases healing done to targets that already have one of your hots on them)
Restoration druids have one of the most unique playstyles in healing, having to juggle interactions between several different spells. Druids lack in burst healing, but make up for it with very strong sustainable overall healing. The hot focused nature makes them not as fun for everyone, but very enjoyable to those who like that playstyle.
Shaman
Restoration Shaman are very interesting healers with powerful aoe and single target healing. Shaman have a few unique spells that keep them feeling fresh and different from the other classes. Shaman are the mail armor wearing healing class. Shaman can dispel curses and magic (when talented). Shamans lack any strong cooldowns (unless you count heroism a 30% haste raid wide buff (Note there is one in development now though)), but have a strong mana cooldown with Mana Tide Totem. Shaman also have a unique buffing system with their totems that allows them to bring a very large amount of buffs. Shaman also have special enhancements they put on their weapons for bonus effects.
Restoration specilization bonuses:
Earth Shield (A unique heal that places a shield on the target that will heal them after they take damage)
Meditation (all healing specs have this, allows for 50% of spirit to regain in combat)
Purification (Increases heals effictivness by 10% and reduces Healing Wave and Greater Healing Waves cast times by 1 second)
Deep Healing (Increases the effictivness of your heals on wounded targets (lower health means bigger heals))
Shaman rely heavly on spell interaciton to get the greatest effect from their heals. To be a good Restoration Shaman you have to understand these interactions and use them to their greatest effect. Their movement has come a long way from Wotlk especially with the abillity to have instant cast ghost wolf (which is usable indoors), but they still don't have an instant cast aoe heal for when the whole group needs healing now while your moving. Regardless they are still a powerful and versatile healer with unique heals, interesting spell interactio, and a large amount of buffs.
Paladin
Holy Paladins are very powerful healers with extremely strong utility. Paladins have a unique resource system called "Holy Power." Holy Power builds up between 1-3 and can be used to use special mana free heals that are stronger the more Holy Power you have. In adition Paladins also have several strong cooldowns along with 2 great utility abillities; Beacon of Light (which passively sends 50% of all your healing to its target), and Protector of the Innocent (which passively heals yourself if you heal anyone else). Paladins also can dispel poison disease and magic (when taleneted). Paladin's are the plate healing class.
Holy Specilization Bonuses:
Holy Shock (Holy Pallys main holy power generator, heals for a decent amount is instant and mana efficent)
Meditation (all healing specs have this, allows for 50% of spirit to regain in combat)
Walk in the Light (Increases healing effictiveness by 10%)
Illimunated Healing (Holy Paladin's mastery, creates an absorb effect after healing a target)
Paladins are very strong healers with powerful instant cast, and mana free heals. Paladins also have their own unique resource system and several mechanics (beacon, judging) they must manage. Paladins also have a wide variety of buffs through auras and normal buffs. They lack proactive healing (hots/shields that can be put on a target before the damage is taken) but make up for it in very strong throughoput. They also have the advantage of no gear competition since there are no other plate spell users.
All of the healers are very capable of anything you would like to do with them. They all also have very distinctly different styles that keeps them all feeling fresh and different from each other. Remember if you try one healer and decide that their style is not for you that doesn't mean you won't greatly enjoy one of the other healers.
If you have any further questions or anything else feel free to email me or comment here.
Happy Healing!
*Note these are very general overviews of each class/spec, any more detailed questions email me or comment. Also the specialization bonuses are the bonuses for choosing that spec. The bonus listed that I say is their "mastery" is received at lvl 80 and is spec specific.
Priest
Priests are the only class in the game with 2 different healing specializations. A healing priest may spec into the Discipline tree to focus on shields and other such absorption effects, or Holy for a extremely versatile spec with very strong aoe heals. Priests have the biggest "toolbox" of all the healers with many different unique spells. Along with the basic 3 spells (covered in the next part of the How to Heal series) priests also have a wide variety of other healing spells, the best magic dispel, and can also dispel diseases. Priests are also the cloth wearing healing class.
Discipline specialization bonuses:
Penance (a quick channeled heal)
Meditation (all healing specs have this, allows for 50% of spirit to regain in combat)
Enlightenment (increases intellect by 15%)
Shield Discipline (Their mastery increases the potency of their absorb affects)
Discipline has 3 potent cooldowns and 2 different play styles. As a discipline priest you can focus on either being a "smite spec" priest or a regular discipline priest with heavy focus on shielding. Discipline priests are effective healers with strong cooldowns capable of powerful burst throughput.
Holy specialization bonuses:
Holy Word: Chastise (A stun that transforms into different heals based on your chakra stance)
Meditation (all healing specs have this, allows for 50% of spirit to regain in combat)
Spiritual Healing (Increases all healing by 15%)
Echo of Light (holy's mastery creates a small hot after every direct heal)
Holy has an interesting playstyle in managing their "chakra" stances. They choose stances based on their healing style and anticipating which one will be more useful. Holy has extremely strong aoe healing and a powerful cooldown.
Druid
Restoration Druids are a unique healing class in that most of their focus on healing is on their "hots." Hots are healing over time effects, and can be very powerful when layered together. Druids have a pretty solid toolbox with aoe and single target healing. Druids can dispel magic (when talented) curses and poisions. Druids lack a mitigation cooldown but have a strong output cooldown in tree of life. Druids are the leather wearing healing class.
Restoration specilization bonuses:
Swiftmend (A powerful instant cast heal that consumes 1 over your hots on the target (unless glyphed))
Meditation (all healing specs have this, allows for 50% of spirit to regain in combat)
Gift of Nature (increases healing by 25%)
Disentanglement (allows the druid to shapeshift out of roots)
Symbiosis (increases healing done to targets that already have one of your hots on them)
Restoration druids have one of the most unique playstyles in healing, having to juggle interactions between several different spells. Druids lack in burst healing, but make up for it with very strong sustainable overall healing. The hot focused nature makes them not as fun for everyone, but very enjoyable to those who like that playstyle.
Shaman
Restoration Shaman are very interesting healers with powerful aoe and single target healing. Shaman have a few unique spells that keep them feeling fresh and different from the other classes. Shaman are the mail armor wearing healing class. Shaman can dispel curses and magic (when talented). Shamans lack any strong cooldowns (unless you count heroism a 30% haste raid wide buff (Note there is one in development now though)), but have a strong mana cooldown with Mana Tide Totem. Shaman also have a unique buffing system with their totems that allows them to bring a very large amount of buffs. Shaman also have special enhancements they put on their weapons for bonus effects.
Restoration specilization bonuses:
Earth Shield (A unique heal that places a shield on the target that will heal them after they take damage)
Meditation (all healing specs have this, allows for 50% of spirit to regain in combat)
Purification (Increases heals effictivness by 10% and reduces Healing Wave and Greater Healing Waves cast times by 1 second)
Deep Healing (Increases the effictivness of your heals on wounded targets (lower health means bigger heals))
Shaman rely heavly on spell interaciton to get the greatest effect from their heals. To be a good Restoration Shaman you have to understand these interactions and use them to their greatest effect. Their movement has come a long way from Wotlk especially with the abillity to have instant cast ghost wolf (which is usable indoors), but they still don't have an instant cast aoe heal for when the whole group needs healing now while your moving. Regardless they are still a powerful and versatile healer with unique heals, interesting spell interactio, and a large amount of buffs.
Paladin
Holy Paladins are very powerful healers with extremely strong utility. Paladins have a unique resource system called "Holy Power." Holy Power builds up between 1-3 and can be used to use special mana free heals that are stronger the more Holy Power you have. In adition Paladins also have several strong cooldowns along with 2 great utility abillities; Beacon of Light (which passively sends 50% of all your healing to its target), and Protector of the Innocent (which passively heals yourself if you heal anyone else). Paladins also can dispel poison disease and magic (when taleneted). Paladin's are the plate healing class.
Holy Specilization Bonuses:
Holy Shock (Holy Pallys main holy power generator, heals for a decent amount is instant and mana efficent)
Meditation (all healing specs have this, allows for 50% of spirit to regain in combat)
Walk in the Light (Increases healing effictiveness by 10%)
Illimunated Healing (Holy Paladin's mastery, creates an absorb effect after healing a target)
Paladins are very strong healers with powerful instant cast, and mana free heals. Paladins also have their own unique resource system and several mechanics (beacon, judging) they must manage. Paladins also have a wide variety of buffs through auras and normal buffs. They lack proactive healing (hots/shields that can be put on a target before the damage is taken) but make up for it in very strong throughoput. They also have the advantage of no gear competition since there are no other plate spell users.
All of the healers are very capable of anything you would like to do with them. They all also have very distinctly different styles that keeps them all feeling fresh and different from each other. Remember if you try one healer and decide that their style is not for you that doesn't mean you won't greatly enjoy one of the other healers.
If you have any further questions or anything else feel free to email me or comment here.
Happy Healing!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Weekly Update: Madness in March
It's been a crazy crazy week for me, and I'm sorry I haven't posted. I have had a lot of random stuff happen, I've been busy, and I had some internet problems at some points. A lot of cool stuff has happened though, and its almost time for that magical time of the year...
March Madness
Heck yea! I'm not even a big basketball fan, there is just so many good games its unreal! I'm pretty excited for this year, I currently have Syracuse, Conneticut, Notre Dame, and Utah State (yes Utah State) in my final four, with Notre Dame beating Uconn for the championship. I'm probably not right though, since I never do good with my brackets. What I do know is this year the Southeast region is going to be what makes or breaks your bracket. There is a lot of good teams in that region and no clear dominant team (Pitt is inconsistent and has a history for choking in the tournament). Look for Belmont (13), Utah State (12), and Old Dominon (9) all to be higher seeded teams that should pose a legitament threat.
Coaching
If you read last weeks update or some of the other posts you would know that I coach elementary school wrestling. Well yesterday we had our city championships and I coached my first ever city champion! It was his first year wrestling, and he just fell in love with the sport and worked extremely hard every practice to get better. I am unbelievably proud of him, and he came up and thanked me for everything after. It really was a rewarding feeling, and I'm excited to coach again next year.
On WoW
I didn't really have an opputunity to play much this past week. I managed to level my druid to 33 (was 28), and finally got him exalted with Darnassus for my nightsaber. I also did enough Alterac Valley Call to Arms to get the healing heirloom mace. That is really about all I managed to accomplish this week though sadly. I guess I also figured out that low level paladin tanks don't like speccing into Sanctuary (their uncrittable talent), luckily though I had 290 spell power and 3k mana at lvl 32, so I managed to get through it.
In other games
I don't believe I have ever talked about it on the blog, but I used to be a Halo trick jumper (search Jump Vision on youtube my gamertag was XTR3MEST). I have recently been trying to get back into it with Halo: Reach and have been jumping in that a little bit. Hopefully in the next month I'll have enough landed to release my next video. I have also been working on a Halo 3 launching video with one of my friends that should be pretty revolutionary for Halo 3 multiplayer launching, so that is pretty exciting too.
On the Blog
I got a comment! I haven't been real active on here this past week though, and I'm sorry for that. How to Heal part 2 should be out tomorrow though (expect those on Wensdays they take a while to write and get all the links for). I also have kept up a few consistent views and have a follower now so this is all great news. Hopefully soon I can develop a community here and have some quality content for everyone to discuss, look to. I think I might just need to come up with a breakthrough post that just draws a lot of attention to really pick up the views/comments, so hopefully I'll come up with one soon.
On Life
Same old same old really. I am done coaching, still in school, still looking for a job so yea its all about the same. Spring break is coming up next week though, and the senioritis bug is kicking my butt. It used to be if I didn't do an assignment it was just cause I was too lazy too. At this point I have senioritis so bad that I won't even remember its assigned so I won't do it. My grades aren't getting dragged down too bad though so everything is ok so far. I'm excited for college and classes that are more meaningful to me though.
On Programming
I was too busy with schoolwork and coaching and everything to even post on the blog much do you think I had time to program much? Learning Java is still on my to do list and may have to get pushed back til later on in the year.
EDIT: I was playing on my druid earlier and won the Scarlet Crusade tabard! This was pretty exciting for me, since I'm an achievement whore and am collecting tabards (have 9 at lvl 35). Here's the picture, good luck to any other achievement hunters out there!
Feel free to ask me anything or email me!
Happy Healing!
March Madness
Heck yea! I'm not even a big basketball fan, there is just so many good games its unreal! I'm pretty excited for this year, I currently have Syracuse, Conneticut, Notre Dame, and Utah State (yes Utah State) in my final four, with Notre Dame beating Uconn for the championship. I'm probably not right though, since I never do good with my brackets. What I do know is this year the Southeast region is going to be what makes or breaks your bracket. There is a lot of good teams in that region and no clear dominant team (Pitt is inconsistent and has a history for choking in the tournament). Look for Belmont (13), Utah State (12), and Old Dominon (9) all to be higher seeded teams that should pose a legitament threat.
Coaching
If you read last weeks update or some of the other posts you would know that I coach elementary school wrestling. Well yesterday we had our city championships and I coached my first ever city champion! It was his first year wrestling, and he just fell in love with the sport and worked extremely hard every practice to get better. I am unbelievably proud of him, and he came up and thanked me for everything after. It really was a rewarding feeling, and I'm excited to coach again next year.
On WoW
I didn't really have an opputunity to play much this past week. I managed to level my druid to 33 (was 28), and finally got him exalted with Darnassus for my nightsaber. I also did enough Alterac Valley Call to Arms to get the healing heirloom mace. That is really about all I managed to accomplish this week though sadly. I guess I also figured out that low level paladin tanks don't like speccing into Sanctuary (their uncrittable talent), luckily though I had 290 spell power and 3k mana at lvl 32, so I managed to get through it.
In other games
I don't believe I have ever talked about it on the blog, but I used to be a Halo trick jumper (search Jump Vision on youtube my gamertag was XTR3MEST). I have recently been trying to get back into it with Halo: Reach and have been jumping in that a little bit. Hopefully in the next month I'll have enough landed to release my next video. I have also been working on a Halo 3 launching video with one of my friends that should be pretty revolutionary for Halo 3 multiplayer launching, so that is pretty exciting too.
On the Blog
I got a comment! I haven't been real active on here this past week though, and I'm sorry for that. How to Heal part 2 should be out tomorrow though (expect those on Wensdays they take a while to write and get all the links for). I also have kept up a few consistent views and have a follower now so this is all great news. Hopefully soon I can develop a community here and have some quality content for everyone to discuss, look to. I think I might just need to come up with a breakthrough post that just draws a lot of attention to really pick up the views/comments, so hopefully I'll come up with one soon.
On Life
Same old same old really. I am done coaching, still in school, still looking for a job so yea its all about the same. Spring break is coming up next week though, and the senioritis bug is kicking my butt. It used to be if I didn't do an assignment it was just cause I was too lazy too. At this point I have senioritis so bad that I won't even remember its assigned so I won't do it. My grades aren't getting dragged down too bad though so everything is ok so far. I'm excited for college and classes that are more meaningful to me though.
On Programming
I was too busy with schoolwork and coaching and everything to even post on the blog much do you think I had time to program much? Learning Java is still on my to do list and may have to get pushed back til later on in the year.
EDIT: I was playing on my druid earlier and won the Scarlet Crusade tabard! This was pretty exciting for me, since I'm an achievement whore and am collecting tabards (have 9 at lvl 35). Here's the picture, good luck to any other achievement hunters out there!
Feel free to ask me anything or email me!
Happy Healing!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
How to Heal Part 1: Is healing the role for you?
Hello everyone this is Part 1 of a series I'm going to start as a basic guide (will get into advanced stuff near the end) on healing! Part 1 is on whether or not healing is for you.
If your reading this I'm assuming you either just want to read it or hopefully your planning on rolling/speccing into a healer! Congratulations you could soon be a part of the most unique role in the game. Before you do that though, It's best to make sure that healing is a role you will enjoy.
Helping others/support
This is one of many peoples favorite aspects of healing. Your whole job as a healer is to keep others alive. While you may not get all the glory this way, you can get personal satisfaction knowing that you are doing a great job supporting the team in a vital role. If your the kind of person who likes to do what they can to help people, then that'd be a great sign that healing is for you.
No set rotations or prioritys, Constantly changing
One of many peoples favorite aspects from a gameplay standpoint is the nature of healing. There are no rotations, no prioritys, and everything is constnatly changing. Being a good healer is about knowing which spell is right for the job. Being able to juggle all of your different healing abillities in an effecient manner is your main responsibility as a healer (besides keeping everyone alive obviously). The reactive and proactive variations along with the you decide on the fly, makes healing very appealing to people seeking a different playstyle then the simple priority systems of dps and tanking. The same pulls can change dramatically with group composition, and other factors keeping it from getting stale to many healers.
Responsibility
As a healer you will often times get the blame for when people die, even if its not your fault! This is part of the responsibility of being a healer, a large part of every single pulls success is on your shoulders. To some this is a boulder, to others it is a challenge they try to live up to. If you can handle some responsibility and like meeting or exceeding the expectations others place on you then healing will appeal to you.
Short ques/High demand
Hey for some people its a big deal. Healers have pretty short ques in the LFD system (not as short as insta que tank but usually not bad). Healers are also usually in demand, while a 25man raid may need only 2 tanks they will most likely use 7 healers. If having short ques or being desired for raid spots (depends on your guild) is something you want in your role, healing can provide.
Having your own style
Healing is one of the few roles where stat values, specs, and playstyle is actually subjective to your healing style. This uniqeness available to you is very appealing to some people who hate being pigeonholed into certain combinations (although variations usually aren't huge). For example: Resto shaman can make valid arguements for stacking haste, crit, or mastery all depending on their raid comp, style of healing, heroic or normal modes, raid size, etc. Healing is the only role where you can develop your own style and base your gearing and spec off it and be optimal (with some exceptions of course, I don't care who you are if your a holy priest your taking chakra).
Unique Gameplay
Healing is the most unique role in the game. Healing is the only role without a set priority system and the only one not focused on damaging the enemy while surviving. Healing can provide a totally different perspective of the game for new or long time players. As a healer you also have to handle all mechanics in most fights, providing a greater overall understanding of the encounters. This unique experience is the most enjoyable role for many people, including myself.
So if healing sounds appealing to you, then stick around for part 2 "Choosing the healing class for you!"
If you have any quesitons email me at healmore.wow@gmail.com or comment here.
Happy Healing All!
Can you handle staring at this for the entire encounter and keeping them all alive?
If your reading this I'm assuming you either just want to read it or hopefully your planning on rolling/speccing into a healer! Congratulations you could soon be a part of the most unique role in the game. Before you do that though, It's best to make sure that healing is a role you will enjoy.
Helping others/support
This is one of many peoples favorite aspects of healing. Your whole job as a healer is to keep others alive. While you may not get all the glory this way, you can get personal satisfaction knowing that you are doing a great job supporting the team in a vital role. If your the kind of person who likes to do what they can to help people, then that'd be a great sign that healing is for you.
No set rotations or prioritys, Constantly changing
One of many peoples favorite aspects from a gameplay standpoint is the nature of healing. There are no rotations, no prioritys, and everything is constnatly changing. Being a good healer is about knowing which spell is right for the job. Being able to juggle all of your different healing abillities in an effecient manner is your main responsibility as a healer (besides keeping everyone alive obviously). The reactive and proactive variations along with the you decide on the fly, makes healing very appealing to people seeking a different playstyle then the simple priority systems of dps and tanking. The same pulls can change dramatically with group composition, and other factors keeping it from getting stale to many healers.
Responsibility
As a healer you will often times get the blame for when people die, even if its not your fault! This is part of the responsibility of being a healer, a large part of every single pulls success is on your shoulders. To some this is a boulder, to others it is a challenge they try to live up to. If you can handle some responsibility and like meeting or exceeding the expectations others place on you then healing will appeal to you.
Short ques/High demand
Hey for some people its a big deal. Healers have pretty short ques in the LFD system (not as short as insta que tank but usually not bad). Healers are also usually in demand, while a 25man raid may need only 2 tanks they will most likely use 7 healers. If having short ques or being desired for raid spots (depends on your guild) is something you want in your role, healing can provide.
Having your own style
Healing is one of the few roles where stat values, specs, and playstyle is actually subjective to your healing style. This uniqeness available to you is very appealing to some people who hate being pigeonholed into certain combinations (although variations usually aren't huge). For example: Resto shaman can make valid arguements for stacking haste, crit, or mastery all depending on their raid comp, style of healing, heroic or normal modes, raid size, etc. Healing is the only role where you can develop your own style and base your gearing and spec off it and be optimal (with some exceptions of course, I don't care who you are if your a holy priest your taking chakra).
Unique Gameplay
Healing is the most unique role in the game. Healing is the only role without a set priority system and the only one not focused on damaging the enemy while surviving. Healing can provide a totally different perspective of the game for new or long time players. As a healer you also have to handle all mechanics in most fights, providing a greater overall understanding of the encounters. This unique experience is the most enjoyable role for many people, including myself.
So if healing sounds appealing to you, then stick around for part 2 "Choosing the healing class for you!"
If you have any quesitons email me at healmore.wow@gmail.com or comment here.
Happy Healing All!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Weekly Update: The First Edition
I decided in an attempt to get some regularity in some posting I would start having colums i would try and run on specefic days, and for tuesday i decided I would do kind of an update on whats going on in my life in game and out. Also I have realized that posting everyday will not work long term, and may try and cut back soon to every 2-3 days. It will depend on what ideas I have to write about, I don't wanna post something unmeaningful/not useful for no real reason. Plus I want to start working on a basic healing guide for all classes (later parts would go through all specefic classes, and then an advanced concepts part) and this will take time to work on. So if I don't post for a day or two don't worry.
In Game
My priest hasn't really been worked on since the BH run, but I also haven't played much in general. I have played my resto druid some though, and managed to hit 25 with him and promptly bought the swiftmend glyph. I am loving my druid and am really looking forward to continue to level him. One thing I have noticed though is that the talents/abilities don't really work out well for resto or feral tanks. For resto you have everything you need essentially (I have rejuv, nourish, and regrowth for exmaple), but my problem is that I get revitalize in the 30s (triggers replinishment when using lifebloom), and malfurion's gift in the 40s (procs omen of clarity off lifebloom), but I don't get lifebloom until level 64! This is just kinda frustrating cause one of the major parts of the playstyle (keeping lifebloom rolling, omen of clarity procs), and a major regen component isn't available until lvl 64 even though the talents are in the 30s and 40s. Feral tanks have it worse though since they have no real aoe until 36 and not even a multi target attack until 25 (maul glyph). This makes the low level instances a severe pain with a feral tank, or playing as one I'd assume (I'm resto, gonna be resto/boomkin so i don't know how feral tanking is personally). Oh well though I'm sure I'll get over it soon, and it'll make me really try hard to hit 64 soon too.
Real life
Nothing really knew me and my girlfriend still together, senioritis is kicking my ass though. I am in AP (advanced placement) English, and every senior at my school has to make a scrapbook thats 50-100 pages long about various topics that also includes 20 essays. The problem is in AP English that isn't your homework thats just extra stuff thrown ontop and with all of my other classes its really bogging me down. I also find myself totally uninterested in all of my classes, I'm not too worried about that being an issue in college cause the atmosphere is totally different and the schedule doesn't kill me as much. Plus I'm generally interested in some of the things i'll be learning in college while in highschool I'm just not. I scored a 29 on my act with a 34 in reading comprehension but have a C in english just because I can't get myself to comit to doing all the work.
On the blog
So a big pickup in views yesterday which is great! Still not getting any comments but thats ok, I'm sure eventually I will start getting some. I'm gonna be posting around on different forums and things of that nature so feel free to pop in anywhere and say hey. Also if anyone has any questions about healing (or even in general about wow), or blog topics they want me to cover feel free to email me at healmore.wow@gmail.com and I will answer the best I can (if i don't know answer I will look up). Also I realize holy pally's are the only class I haven't discussed a lil at least so I will try and post about them soon.
Coaching
I have elementary coaching tonight. Two pracitces left and 1 tournament then I'm done, but i have to say I will miss it. Coaching is a great way to gain a new perspective and genuinely help and impact some kids, so I would like to say to everyone don't be afraid to get involved in coaching any sports. Those overtime matches will be the death of me though.
Programming?
I haven't really programed much in a while, but I plan on teaching myself Java soon. I wanna become a computer software engineer and figure teaching myself some of the basics before college will help a lot in my understanding then. I've even thought about writing a wow addon (a simple one) just as a kind of project that would be a lil more fun then making the computer count to 1000
In python that program is
x = 0
while x < 1000:
x = x+1
print(x)
Stay tuned for potential healing guides coming up soon, and feel free to email or comment!
Happy Healing All!
Monday, March 7, 2011
10 Tips for Resto Druids to get Dark Intent
1) Promise to let him lifetap as much as he wants, and keep him alive
A great way to start, promising to keep him alive no matter what goes down should be a good incentive for him to buff you. Make sure you keep that rejuv rolling on him!
2) Go cat form and /purr
Awwwwww kittens are so adorable, give him those cute little kitten eyes and he will be powerless to resist
3) Go Bear form and growl
So cute and adorable didn't work? Go ahead and try turning into a big scary bear and intimadate him into it
4) Go travel form and run around him
Here your just trying to annoy him into it, run circles around him unitl he gives it to you
5) Pretend to be hunter alts pet
Every hunter in the worlds dream is to tame a druid, why not pretend to let him do it on an alt! Just go bear form or cat form and /follow him and auto attack whatever he does!
6) /flirt
This works especially well if your a Night elf female (if your a worgen female go human form... unless their into that kinda thing). Go up and give them some moves, soon they will be powerless to resist (you can even take them to goldshire inn pre raid if you wanna make things interesting).
7) If he's dressed up as pirate go aquatic form
Everyone has seen the people who transform themselves into a pirate, if your warlock is doing that then go aquatic form so he'll think your a sexy mermaid! Hey it worked in real life (thats where mermaid myth came from, sailors so desperate they thought manatees where mermaids), and who wouldn't wanna buff a sexy mermaid?
8) Talk about how awesome he is in trade
/2 Oh man *insert warlock name here* is so awesome, he's the best warlock on the server for sure, none of you guys can even compare. He was doing 30k dps back in ICC and now hes trying to break 100k he's so great. Once he's flooded with all the whispers about how awesome he is how could he not buff you?
9) Promise him a brez
Sometimes people die, it just happens. Whether its old age, or standing in void zones at some point its gonna happen. So if promissing to keep him alive didn't work, try promising him a brez. Sure another healer or tank would be more important, but this is your hps were talking about damnit! Everyone's looking at recount and you wanna look good.
10) Threaten with death
Finally if the whole "I'll make sure you live, I'll even brez you" thing didn't work try threatening them with death. Make sure you communicate with your other healers (tell them he was saying mean nasty things about them behind their back) so that he happens to die on any encounter with unavoidable aoe, til he gets the message.
With these tips you should have no problem getting your warlocks to give you dark intent and dramatically increase your healing power! If you want more exact numbers check out Jar's post at the top, and warlocks remember Resto Druids love you!
Happy Healing all!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
The Facebook Generation a step towards the future, or a step back?
As a current highschool senior I'm old enough to understand a few things about my generation (not necessarily me, but I'm sure some apply).
Nothing is ever enough
We always want more, the newer bigger toy, the fancier phone, whatever it may be we all want the best, and even if we get it we want more then that.
Partying is cool (this one's definantly not me, but I know mannnyyy people this applies to)
Shows like Jersey Shore, The Real World, and the like have sadly become the model many teenagers are trying to become. Suddenly, being that "bad boy" or that "bad girl" who goes out and breaks all the rules and gets drunk is really cool, while the boy or girl with the 4.0 headed to Yale is lame (no that's not me). I've seen so many people try and brag about how drunk they were or how many girls they got, because that's the stereotype that goes with popularity now a days.
Working sucks, being lazy is better
So many kids cheat and find the lazy way out now a days its ridiculous. One of the things I've told the parents of the kids I coach is that wrestling will help them learn how to work and work hard. The coaches won't let you have an easy way out (and trust me people try) so you just get used to doing it the hard way and working as hard as you can.
Appearance is everything
One of the reasons why Facebook is so popular is because it allows you to publicly talk to people (wall posts/comments) where everyone can see to give yourself a certain social status. This is also why girls will wake up at 4am to get ready for a normal school day, and groups of kids always wear the same brands, its part of "fitting in" to them.
Some of these are part of the reason my generation has earned the nickname "The Facebook Generation." With the constantly advancing technology that we've grown up with, and the increase in cell phone and mobile technology, many kids (including my girlfriend) have constant access to facebook and other similar social media sites and check them almost constantly. Studies have shown that 47% of kids under 18 talk more over text and other chatting methods more then in person. So this leads me to the question, is this advance in technology and thusly social behavoir a step forward or a step backwards?
A step forwards
While this advancing technology may change social structure it could be for the better. Being able to interact with people from all over the world at all times can broaden children culture and teach them about the world. Not to mention the usefulness of having constant internet access everywhere (google saves lives ya know). Also these new forms of social media has lead to people being able to interact with others easier and more often then ever before, in some cases building strong relationships or friendships that will last them a lifetime.
A step backwards
With this constant access to social media, some experts worry that real life social interaction will soon become outdated. I know many people that are great to talk to while texting but in person just can't seem to be the same person. This has also led to an increasing focus on social appearance leaving those who have different styles or personallitys doomed to whatever they appear as.
So obviously everyone knows that times change but in recent times technology has advanced faster then ever before. This increased technology has sent ripples and changed culture entirely with it.
I'd love to hear anyone's opinions on this guys so feel free to comment
Happy Healing
Nothing is ever enough
We always want more, the newer bigger toy, the fancier phone, whatever it may be we all want the best, and even if we get it we want more then that.
Partying is cool (this one's definantly not me, but I know mannnyyy people this applies to)
Shows like Jersey Shore, The Real World, and the like have sadly become the model many teenagers are trying to become. Suddenly, being that "bad boy" or that "bad girl" who goes out and breaks all the rules and gets drunk is really cool, while the boy or girl with the 4.0 headed to Yale is lame (no that's not me). I've seen so many people try and brag about how drunk they were or how many girls they got, because that's the stereotype that goes with popularity now a days.
Working sucks, being lazy is better
So many kids cheat and find the lazy way out now a days its ridiculous. One of the things I've told the parents of the kids I coach is that wrestling will help them learn how to work and work hard. The coaches won't let you have an easy way out (and trust me people try) so you just get used to doing it the hard way and working as hard as you can.
Appearance is everything
One of the reasons why Facebook is so popular is because it allows you to publicly talk to people (wall posts/comments) where everyone can see to give yourself a certain social status. This is also why girls will wake up at 4am to get ready for a normal school day, and groups of kids always wear the same brands, its part of "fitting in" to them.
Some of these are part of the reason my generation has earned the nickname "The Facebook Generation." With the constantly advancing technology that we've grown up with, and the increase in cell phone and mobile technology, many kids (including my girlfriend) have constant access to facebook and other similar social media sites and check them almost constantly. Studies have shown that 47% of kids under 18 talk more over text and other chatting methods more then in person. So this leads me to the question, is this advance in technology and thusly social behavoir a step forward or a step backwards?
A step forwards
While this advancing technology may change social structure it could be for the better. Being able to interact with people from all over the world at all times can broaden children culture and teach them about the world. Not to mention the usefulness of having constant internet access everywhere (google saves lives ya know). Also these new forms of social media has lead to people being able to interact with others easier and more often then ever before, in some cases building strong relationships or friendships that will last them a lifetime.
A step backwards
With this constant access to social media, some experts worry that real life social interaction will soon become outdated. I know many people that are great to talk to while texting but in person just can't seem to be the same person. This has also led to an increasing focus on social appearance leaving those who have different styles or personallitys doomed to whatever they appear as.
So obviously everyone knows that times change but in recent times technology has advanced faster then ever before. This increased technology has sent ripples and changed culture entirely with it.
I'd love to hear anyone's opinions on this guys so feel free to comment
Happy Healing
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